“And He [Antiochus IV (175 B.C.E. – 164 B.C.E.)] shall stir up His Power and His Courage against

The King of The South [Ptolemy VI (180 B.C.E. – 164 B.C.E. & 163 B.C.E. – 145 B.C.E.)]

With A Great Army.

And The King of The South [Ptolemy VI] shall be stirred up to Battle

With A Very Great and Mighty army;

But He [Ptolemy VI ] shall not stand,

For They shall forecast devices [ devise plans] against Him,”

Daniel 11:25

Ptolemy VI (180 B.C.E. – 164 B.C.E. & 163 B.C.E. – 145 B.C.E.)

In 170 B.C.E, the guardians of King Ptolemy VI, who was only sixteen years old, demanded the return of Coele-Syria, declaring war on The Seleucid Empire, on the assumption that the empire was divided after Antiochus IV’s murder of his nephew, the son of Seleucus IV.

Antiochus IV had warning of the attack. He prepared more thoroughly, building his forces and moving them into position.

As soon as the Egyptian forces left Pelusium, they were attacked and defeated by Antiochus IV and his Seleucid Empire army.

The Seleucids then seized Pelusium giving them supplies and access to all of Egypt.

Antiochus IV advanced into Egypt proper, taking Memphis, conquering all but Alexandria. (Verse 26, which we shall analyze next week is a continuation of the prophecy of Antiochus IV’s conquest of Egypt.

His success was partially achieved because Rome (Ptolemaic Egypt’s ally) was embroiled in The Third Macedonian War ( 172 B.C.E. – 168 B.C.E.) and was not willing to become involved in other conflicts while Perseus, the last king of Macedon was attacking The Roman Republic.

Bruce Gore’s Summary of Daniel 11:25

“Woe To Thee,

O Land,

When Thy King is A Child,

And Thy Princes Eat In The Morning!”

Ecclesiastes 10:15

Solomon, The Wise King of Israel, warned of the danger to a kingdom when it is governed by regents.”

‘The Visit of The Queen of Sheba to King Solomon’ by Sir Edward John Poynter (1892)

• Alexander The Great would have affirmed the wise Solomon’s proverb. His mighty empire was left in the hands of regents and his heir, as yet unborn, was eventually murdered, and his empire was divided between his warring generals.
• England’s great warrior king, Henry V, died leaving his young son, Henry VI, as heir. All Henry’s great conquests were lost through the incompetence of the regents of England.
• James VI inherited the throne of Scotland as an infant but Scotland was, in this exceptional case, ruled by godly men who ensured that the young child was educated by the most learned and principled of men. It was this rigorous education that led James, when he was crowned King of England as James I, to resolve the conflicts between the Bishops of the established church and those who wanted to purify the church, The Puritans, by decreeing that a new translation be prepared – The magnificent Authorized Version.

King James I of England and King James VI of Scotland.

The Preparation of The King of Kings and The Lord of Lords, JESUS OF NAZARETH.

THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL did not anoint HIS BELOVED SON, JESUS OF NAZARETH, who is THE KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, until HE was well over Thirty Years Old (Luke 3:23). JESUS OF NAZARETH was hidden from public view from his birth until HIS Baptism. After HIS Baptism, HE underwent a time of testing and preparation in The Wilderness.

Next Week: Daniel 11:26 The Continuing History of Antiochus IV and Ptolemy VI.

Post Script: Co-Co, The Coconut-Throwing Chimpanzee Schoolmaster, apologizes for the delay in publishing this post. He likes to publish on Saturday Evening – and here it is Monday Evening. True to chimpanzee principles, he apologizes, hoping for clemency on the part of his readers.